degrees of broken

I'm reading the recently released Dreaming in Code, by Scott Rosenberg. So far it's entertaining and insightful about software development. I was struck by this sentence, from chapter zero:

Their work is one percent inspiration, the rest sweat-drenched detective work; their products are never finished or perfect, just various degrees of "less broken."

Which is as true a statement about software creation as I've ever heard. Our work is never finished and never perfect, just "less broken." If you hear someone describe their program as "bug-free" you know they've still got dirt on them from the turnip truck.

I'm off to make something a little less broken today...